FOR THE RECORD

Can a crusader against smoking and illegal guns make himself palatable to America's Heartland? Will that same crusader who got the trans-fats out of fast-food restaurants but didn't do as well with rats dig his fork into the Big Enchilada by making an independent run for President?

These are among the questions that this year's Inner Circle Show, the annual charity fund-raiser staged by past and present political reporters, will attempt to answer at the New York Hilton April 14.

Entitled, "Fat Chance," the satire, with Inner Circle president and WCBS-Radio reporter Rich Lamb as Mr. Bloomberg, also features a group of Deputy Mayors led by WINS reporter Juliet Papa as Patti Harris imagining life in Washington, a couple of school bus consultants even Randi Weingarten would be amused by, and political gurus played by WNBC-TV reporters Melissa Russo and Carol Anne Riddell. A batch of mayoral wannabes including former WCBS-TV reporter David Diaz as Ray Kelly and Daily News stalwart Jim Harney as Bill Thompson ponder the possibilities if Mr. Bloomberg leaves office early, with Inner Circle vice president and WPIX anchor Mary Murphy as Betsy Gotbaum reminding everyone that she's next in line.

Act 2 revolves around the declared candidates for President, led by longtime "Good Day New York" anchor Jim Ryan as Rudy Giuliani (accompanied by Judi Nathan Giuliani like you've never seen her), ex-Daily Newser Bob Liff as Barack Obama and WCBS-Radio's Mary Alice Williams as Hillary Clinton. Presidential dark-horses and future-book candidates are represented by WNBC-TV's Gabe Pressman as Al Gore and ex-Daily News scribe Mark Lieberman as Governor Spitzer.

This newspaper's Richard Steier will portray Vice President Cheney as he deals with the fallout from Scooter Libby's conviction and the mess in Iraq, while WCBS-TV's John Slattery as President Bush will try to prove that it's always a mistake to misunderestimate him.

If that isn't enough to make the event a hotter ticket than the Knicks, the reporters' show will be followed by Mr. Bloomberg - who previously sang and danced with the casts of "The Producers," "Man of La Mancha," "Chicago," and "Spamalot" - offering a rebuttal with another of Broadway's best ensembles. (Given the hard time Mr. Giuliani is currently having over his performance in drag with the cast of "Victor, Victoria" in the 1997 show, it might be safe to conclude that if Mr. Bloomberg puts on a dress, he isn't running for President.)

Tickets for the tax-deductible dinner and show are $500 each. For further information, call Mark Lieberman at (212) 326-6107.

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District Council 1707 is taking its fight against the city's use of non-union day-care workers to the national level. The city has yet to comply with a 14-month-old arbitration ruling which mandated that 600 workers in the city's day-care centers who were removed from DC 1707's bargaining unit should have their contractual rights restored.

"The members are so upset they want to shut down the centers," said DC 1707 official Neal Tepel. But for now, the union is seeking help from other city unions and its national parent union, asking them to contact Mayor Bloomberg and express their dismay. Mr. Bloomberg's after-school program, which is entirely non-union, is being touted nationally as a model program.

"It could be duplicated in other cities," said Mr. Tepel. "It's something that could spread, and that makes it a national issue." The union also held a training workshop over the weekend to get shop stewards up to speed on the arbitration and to lay out why the survival of the day-care centers is central to the future health of the union.

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The AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council's Community Assistance Unit is sponsoring a Union Career Day April 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the School of Cooperative Technical Education, 321 East 96th St. in Manhattan.

The event, co-sponsored by the United Way, will allow students to speak with representatives of several CLC union affiliates about career opportunities and apprentice programs.